Leading more than 1000 staff across two global businesses – Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year 2023, GALE, and storied creative powerhouse Crispin Porter Bogusky – CEO Brad Simms thrives on the velocity, hustle and gaping opportunity agencies have.

As a rule-breaker by nature, and keen on tearing up the playbook rather than following it, Simms has no time for the norm and plenty of time for smashing stigmas. He argues until agencies conduct a brutal self-assessment, they’ll be chasing their tails and swimming in consultancy dregs.

Simms’ homegrown startup turned billion-dollar baby, data centric GALE, didn’t exist a decade ago and the now Stagwell-owned agency didn’t have a media practice. It’s now scooping prestigious accolades and leading the charge on climate change by being the largest US agency by headcount to sign up for the Clean Creatives anti-fossil fuel client pledge.

With global clients across the fold including Amazon, Tinder, Chipotle, Buchanan’s Scotch Whisky, Netflix, P&G, H&R Block, Hertz and Dropbox, the former CMO and startup venture capitalist adviser said creative leadership and climate leadership go hand-in-hand and has some stern words for today’s agency bosses.

As well as learning about the highs and challenges of CEO life at GALE and what clients are asking for more of (and less of), Simms will discuss the dual role juggle alongside global full-service agency Crispin, his core belief that consulting and creative have to be closer connected to drive business outcomes, and why being a ‘business agency’ is not just in vogue, but here to stay.

It’s no secret the sporting landscape has changed over the years, and as the fastest growing sport in the country, basketball is the game on everyone’s lips.

Join ESPN Australia’s Commercial Director, Nik Weber, for this candid chat with majority owner and chairman of The Sydney Kings, National Basketball League Franchise, Paul Smith.

Australian entrepreneur Smith, who previously sold his homegrown sports consulting firm Repucom to Nielsen Holdings in the US in a multimillion-dollar deal, will share what makes him tick in the business of sport, and why modern-day agency leaders need to stretch beyond the current sports norms when it comes to business.

Given The Walt Disney Company majority owned-ESPN’s links with the global and famed National Basketball Association (NBA), the duo will also hit off the trends and challenges surrounding sports sponsorships more broadly, and what the future holds for one of the hottest sports in the world.

Against a global backdrop of economic uncertainty, top research director at investment and advisory group Jarden, Elise Kennedy, will discuss what’s ahead for 2024.

With a lens of cost pressures, interest rates and a threat of recession, Kennedy will set the scene for 2024, what this means for media and marketers, and what could appease investors in this area. She’ll hit off the industries most exposed, will discuss what investors are pressuring CEOs to do with this backdrop – and much more.

It’s no secret that the cost of doing business is on the up. With pressure to shave costs and trim operational expenses, and clients often less than willing to absorb any increases, it can feel like an impossible task.

With the bottom-line well and truly squeezed, this panel of top industry CFOs, alongside a leading CEO as moderator, will discuss challenges around maintaining margin and more.

From minimising risk amidst economic uncertainty, to navigating varying models, candid panellists will also share top tips on being efficient and effective in a job that’s more complex than ever.

As we round the corner into 2024, the challenges and realities of the digital landscape poses a significant uphill climb for many agencies, and the client relationships they have. The crucial role of measurement seems to have slipped into the background even as the conversation around it gets more important. So how can agencies navigate the complexities of a disrupted digital future rife with fragmentation, particularly on the measurement front? Join Daniel O’Connor from Quantcast, as he gives a first look into how real businesses have used AI to overcome challenges, stay ahead in the evolving digital landscape, and make informed marketing decisions going into 2024.

Forget strategy hacks, data dabbling, cautious creative conjuring and timesaving comms plans. When it comes to artificial intelligence, leaders must think about a much bigger, more concerning picture. And how they can play a part in improving the outcomes. Walkley Award-winning journalist Tracey Spicer exposes the bias and discrimination embedded in this constellation of technologies, and the ethical conundrums we face at home and in the workplace. This fast-paced and thought-provoking session digs into the transformative technological shifts of our times.

As well as challenging the status quo, Spicer’s deeply researched and illuminating view equips leaders with the tools to make positive change amidst an uncertain future.

We are beginning a new period of unprecedented and unrelenting change – a shift that occurs only once every 50 to 100 years. How should agency leaders think about this shift and ensure they come out the other side as winners. Is AI an extensional threat or an immense opportunity?

What’s happening in AI? What are the trends, shifts, considerations and risks?

Now is the time to swat up, get prepped, and get ahead.

This not to be missed Artificial Intelligence Workshop will discuss current case studies and examples from brands and agency land, as well as briefing on ‘how to talk AI’, featuring killer techniques to get the most out of prompting.

Don’t fret, the workshop will contain elements of wine and golf.

It’s impossible to think about the future of advertising, let alone the future of business, without considering the impacts of generative AI. Nick Seckold, Regional Vice President APAC, will illustrate how Microsoft is thinking about this emerging technology, its impact on the ways we work and the opportunities it will create for advertising.

Nick will then be joined by Jason Tonelli, CEO Zenith Media, for a fireside chat to discuss how agencies and brands are leaning into this transformational opportunity.

With an international B2B marketing career spanning over 20 years in London, New York and Singapore, Ortner-Ghouze learned to perfect the art of managing external agencies while keeping her business stakeholders happy. In this international keynote the Singapore-based Global Head of Marketing will share details of the greatest dance of all: the threesome between client, agency and business stakeholders. From translating business objectives into marketing strategies, to getting into the swing of good rhythm, she will share her views on how to reach that 10/10 (or close) partnership score.

With more than 250 marketers across the globe at the publicly listed bank, Ortner-Ghouze will also reveal exclusive research created especially for the Agency Leaders Symposium’s audience that directly taps into the international banking giant’s team of 250+ marketers, its many agency partners and business stakeholders. From insights around how organisations like Standard Chartered view external agencies, to what its agencies expect from a client like Standard Chartered – all will be revealed.

Times seem good for Aussie indies but is it all rock n roll and greenshoots?

In this open forum, independent agencies from across the media and creative landscape will be candid with current business challenges, priorities and opportunities.

From exploring differing growth hotspots to pivoting models, admitting vulnerabilities and sharing speed bumps ahead for 2024, this burgeoning group of entrepreneurs will explore all – the good, the bad and the ugly too.

For all the talk of failing fast and lessons learnt from mistakes, we don’t tend to hear much about what these actual failures are … until now.

In this candid panel we’ll hear from a trio of top CEOs about their biggest and very real learnings, and how the impact of these vital lessons can last much longer than shorter term successes.

Join this candid talk with some of the nation’s top marketers to find out what they’re doing to protect their marketing budgets, what they truly want (and don’t want) from their agency partners, and much more.

From championing creativity beyond the marketing department to action around artificial intelligence, shaping 2024 budgets and leaning into new trends, the CMOs will share all.